Ed Sheeran Leaves Warner Music After 15 Years

After 15 years of sustained global success, Ed Sheeran has amicably split with Warner Music. The artist was first signed to Warner’s Asylum imprint in 2011 after meeting Ed Howard (now Co-President of Atlantic UK) at a Bruno Mars gig in 2010. His albums were released in the US through Warner’s Atlantic label.

Why it matters:

• At 35, Sheeran is one of the biggest artists of the past two decades.

• He has sold in excess of 170 million copies of his eight studio albums globally, and accumulated 126 billion global streams and 38 billion YouTube views.

Amicable split:

• In a statement to fans via his newsletter, Sheeran said, “I leave the company with SO much love and gratitude for everything we have achieved together. This isn’t a ‘disgruntled artist leaves record label’ type situation.”

• Ed Howard’s statement was equally effusive, with the exec writing: “On behalf of the wonderful Warner Music teams around the world that championed him over the years, I know we all stand squarely in his corner as Ed steps into his next chapter.”

What’s next:

• Warner Music will continue to release Sheeran’s catalog.

• As Music Business Worldwide points out, his earlier albums are owned by Warner, while his newer releases are licensed to the label through Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man label.

• The licensed releases are covered by a long-term distribution deal.

• Sheeran’s next steps are unclear, though Variety has reported rumors of a Universal Music Group deal.

Sheeran’s full statement:

• “I met Ed Howard from Asylum records at a show in Notting Hill when I was 18 and I ended up crashing at his and his now wife’s house. Whilst there I played him a bunch of music, and just chatted about life and what I wanted to do. I honestly didn’t know at the time he worked at a record label, I thought he was just someone cool who was letting me crash on his sofa. But the next day I found out who he was, and we started chatting. He came to so many of those small gigs, with Ben Cook who ran Asylum at the time. All the tiny tiny pub gigs no one came to, they came to. So when ‘No.5 collaborations’ [Sheeran’s independently released debut EP] came out, and I was offered a deal, I signed instantly. I love those guys so much.

• “Over the last 15 years, I’ve put out so much music and had so much success with that company. We’ve built something amazing together and enjoyed such life changing stuff happening to us. My life is hugely different now to what it was when I was a teenager, and I’ve been feeling in my gut for a long time that a lot of things in my professional life need to change. I am, underneath it all, a singer songwriter who plays pub gigs. And I’ve sorta morphed into this pop star who plays stadiums over 15 years, it’s a super amazing thing to have happened but also a lot to get your head around.

• “I decided to leave Asylum / Warner last month. I leave the company with SO much love and gratitude for everything we have achieved together. This isn’t a ‘disgruntled artist leaves record label’ type situation. This is a boy who started as a teenager on the company with different priorities, to the father of 2 man who exists now, who feels like he needs a shift and change in the way he does things professionally. I love Ed Howard forever, I love Asylum forever, and the door is always open for the future. Thank you everyone across Warner worldwide who has worked on my projects over the last 15 years, it’s been an incredible journey. Excited to see where the next 15 years takes me. Loads of love to everyone x.”